Morning Sun Project
About the project
Australian soul band The Bluesberries have joined the Mariupol Chamber Orchestra ‘Renaissance’ to record and film Morning Sun, a song that pays tribute to the many sacrifices made by Ukrainians and one that aims to bolster spirits and raise much-needed funds for those injured by Russia’s invasion.
The song features outstanding Ukrainian soprano Maryana Golovko and an arrangement by countryman Eugene Braha.
The Mariupol Chamber Orchestra ‘Renaissance’ is led by founding conductor Vasyl Kryachok, who sheltered Ukrainians in his theatre while the Russians laid siege to the city. Kryachok and some of his musicians managed to escape the Russian forces. They reformed the orchestra in Kyiv.
Morning Sun was composed by Australian musician and BBC producer Daniel Fallon (Ciaran Gribbin, The Cockroaches, The John Field Band) and English producer and music director Paul Beard (Robbie Williams, James Blunt, Art Garfunkel) and made possible by Australian entrepreneur, musician and philanthropist John McMurtrie AM.
The song and music video were recorded in Kyiv and Sydney. The project was managed and produced in Ukraine by Polina Velichko.
Morning Sun is the follow up to The Bluesberries’ Blue Skies EP launch in December 2022, which featured the Youth Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine, led by emerging classical star Illia Bondarenko, Maryana Golovko, and the renowned Shchedryk Children’s Choir of Kyiv.
The music videos have reached almost 1 million streams. The project raised money for Ukrainian refugees via UNHCR.
The song and music video will be launched across three performances at The Vanguard in Sydney, on Tuesday February 4, Wednesday February 12 and Wednesday February 19. Money raised during these shows will go towards the Superhumans Center, which helps rehabilitate those people who have lost limbs in the conflict, and I'Mariupol, a charity that supports the internally displaced people from Mariupol.
"I am a witness to the terrible occupation that took tens of thousands of lives. Although these events happened three years ago, they are still before
my eyes.
"At least a thousand people passed through the premises of the Philharmonic under my responsibility. We all saw how their past lives and ideas about the future were destroyed. But we were together, and I am sure unity and creativity
bring hope."
- Vasyl Kryachok, conductor, Mariupol Chamber Orchestra
Background stories:
- DW
Support Ukrainian refugees via I'Mariupol
The war has displaced more than a quarter of Ukraine's population, with 14 million people forced to flee their homes.
MHelp aims to help the hundreds of thousands of Mariupol residents who became internally displaced after Russia's siege and occupation.
Donate
Support amputees via Superhumans Center
Over 50,000 people have lost their limbs due to Russian attacks on Ukraine. Superhuman Center helps to fit prosethetic limbs for the injured and rebuild their lives.
Donate
The lyrics
We have dreamed
Of a world where life is more than it seems
We have strived
For our freedom and our way of life
And we will rise up like the morning sun
And we will rise up until our cause is won , Until the world is one
We have grieved
For those who stood up tall and believed
We still love
The fallen ones watching from above
And we will rise up like the morning sun
And we will rise up until our cause is won , Until the world is one
God watch over me
I’m living in a dangerous world
Trust my beating heart will feel your light
God watch over me
And guide me through the darkest night
Trust my broken soul will see your light
In the morning sun
And we will rise up like the morning sun
And we will rise up until our cause is won , Until the world is one
Blue Skies Project
Blue Skies Project
The Bluesberries are excited to announce Blue Skies Project. Musician and journalist Daniel Fallon has teamed up with English producer Paul Beard and Australian entrepreneur John McMurtrie AM to write and record Blue Skies, a song to promote peace, show solidarity with the people of Ukraine and raise funds for refugees displaced by the conflict via UNHCR.
In an extraordinary creative process, the Sydney soul band The Bluesberries, which features some of Australia’s finest musicians - has collaborated with the Youth Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine, which draws on the most talented young classical musicians from across Ukraine (aged 12-22) to record versions of the song. Led by violinist and arranger Illia Bondarenko - an emerging classical star in Europe - the 33-piece orchestra performed a symphonic arrangement of Blue Skies at a cathedral in Düsseldorf, Germany.
The song features outstanding Ukrainian opera singer Maryana Danchenko, who contributed Ukrainian lyrics and her beautiful voice to versions of the song.
The renowned Shchedryk Children’s Choir recorded a special arrangement for Blue Skies by Ukrainian composer Roman Surzha and Paul Beard. The ensemble brought together 22 Children’s voices to record the piece at a studio in Kyiv. (The studio they recorded in had been repaired from minor damage following Russian attacks earlier in the year.)
Different versions of the song will be released as an EP in late November in Sydney, Australia. Some 70 Australian and Ukrainian musicians have contributed to the recording.
All proceeds from sales of the song will go to UNHCR to support Ukrainian refugees.
The project is managed by Beard, Fallon, McMurtrie and Ukrainian manager Polina Velichko, who has been instrumental in bringing the teams together.
Watch the Blue Skies videos here and subscribe for more music.
VIDEOS
Labuschagne lyric video
Beardy in action
Photo By: Jo Sabinto
BIO
Take the greatest R’n’B hits ever recorded, add some of the most talented musicians in the land to play them, and you are set for an unforgettable night of entertainment.
The Bluesberries are a high-octane 11-piece outfit led by John and backed by the vocal brilliance of Bronwyn Mulcahy and the five-piece Port Jackson Horns (Steve Fitzmaurice, Dan Fallon, Danny May, Tilly Grieve and John McMurtrie). The band features Paul Beard (Robbie Williams, James Blunt, Art Garfunkel, Bryan Ferry, Sheryl Crow), Leon Fallon (Outback Aussie), Adam Pringle (Rowan Lane (Guy Sebastian, Rodriquez, Nikka Costa) and Dave Hibbard (The Hands, Jimmy Barnes, The Badloves). The Bluesberries are grateful to work with Declan Kelly (Bernard Fanning) at The Nest Studio.
LIVE
CONTACT BLUESBERRIES
MANAGEMENT | harley@duetgroup.com and 0419 738 837
MEDIA REQUESTS | nadia.mencinsky@afuo.org.au & 0419516889
BOOKINGS | dan@fallondasey.com